Bahrain Uses Citizenship Revocation as Political Tool: Activists
MANAMA (Dispatches) – Human rights workers and activists have condemned the Bahraini regime for its use of citizenship revocation as a "political tool” to crack down on dissent.
In a virtual event on Thursday organized by Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) and titled Citizenship in Bahrain, Right or Privilege, organizers and participants marked eight years since the Persian Gulf regime revoked the nationality of 31 citizens.
The move was the first in a series of similar citizenship revocations.
Abdulghani al-Khanjar, a leading Bahraini political activist whose nationality was stripped by the regime, said that the authorities have used citizenship revocation as a "tool to terrorize activists and their families and deny them of their political and civic rights”.
Bahrain was the first Persian Gulf Arab state to have experienced significant unrest during the 2011 Arab Spring. The Bahraini regime, which has faced protracted unrest among the country’s activists, said at the time that the move targeted men who had damaged its national security.
Bahraini human rights activist Hussain Abdulla, who moderated the discussion, was among the group of men whose citizenship was revoked in 2012.
Other prominent names included London-based dissidents Saeed al-Shehabi and Ali Mushaima – the son of jailed opposition leader Hassan Mushaima – and two former parliamentarians from the leading Shia party al-Wefaq, Jawad and Jalal Fairooz, according to reports at the time.
Abdulla, who is also the executive director of the ADHRB, said hundreds of Bahrainis have since been stripped of their nationality, adding that unlike himself – a dual United States national at the time – most of them were left stateless.
Since protests erupted in the kingdom in 2011, the Bahraini regime has prosecuted hundreds of political and human rights activists and journalists in mass trials, banned opposition groups and revoked the citizenship of about 1,000 nationals, according to human rights organizations and activists.
Also speaking at the virtual event, Zahra Albarazi, an independent consultant on statelessness, said that citizenship revocation was being used by states, including Bahrain, as "a political tool” – in violation of international law, as it left people stateless.
Courtney Radsch, advocacy director at the Committee to Protect Journalists, said the practice was also used to suppress freedom of expression and freedom of the press with the Bahraini government targeting many journalists and bloggers.
In a virtual event on Thursday organized by Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) and titled Citizenship in Bahrain, Right or Privilege, organizers and participants marked eight years since the Persian Gulf regime revoked the nationality of 31 citizens.
The move was the first in a series of similar citizenship revocations.
Abdulghani al-Khanjar, a leading Bahraini political activist whose nationality was stripped by the regime, said that the authorities have used citizenship revocation as a "tool to terrorize activists and their families and deny them of their political and civic rights”.
Bahrain was the first Persian Gulf Arab state to have experienced significant unrest during the 2011 Arab Spring. The Bahraini regime, which has faced protracted unrest among the country’s activists, said at the time that the move targeted men who had damaged its national security.
Bahraini human rights activist Hussain Abdulla, who moderated the discussion, was among the group of men whose citizenship was revoked in 2012.
Other prominent names included London-based dissidents Saeed al-Shehabi and Ali Mushaima – the son of jailed opposition leader Hassan Mushaima – and two former parliamentarians from the leading Shia party al-Wefaq, Jawad and Jalal Fairooz, according to reports at the time.
Abdulla, who is also the executive director of the ADHRB, said hundreds of Bahrainis have since been stripped of their nationality, adding that unlike himself – a dual United States national at the time – most of them were left stateless.
Since protests erupted in the kingdom in 2011, the Bahraini regime has prosecuted hundreds of political and human rights activists and journalists in mass trials, banned opposition groups and revoked the citizenship of about 1,000 nationals, according to human rights organizations and activists.
Also speaking at the virtual event, Zahra Albarazi, an independent consultant on statelessness, said that citizenship revocation was being used by states, including Bahrain, as "a political tool” – in violation of international law, as it left people stateless.
Courtney Radsch, advocacy director at the Committee to Protect Journalists, said the practice was also used to suppress freedom of expression and freedom of the press with the Bahraini government targeting many journalists and bloggers.